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ONE
Ivy
My dad’s a national hero. Once upon a time, I thought it was pretty awesome. And the reward bestowed on my family ? Gosh, I was so excited when I was twelve.
We were no one. Mom worked the kitchen at the duke of Osvald’s estate—not even the fancy kitchen. They served the staff. Dad was a lowly stable hand. That’s how they met, down below, in the staff break rooms.
And then, just as we were starting at the local public middle school, it happened. Extremists literally tried to kidnap the duke’s youngest daughter, an eight-year-old kid, when she was out on her riding lesson. And my dad saved her, dragging her away, shoving her on his shoulders and hiding her down in one of the service corridors the would-be kidnappers didn’t find.
It made the news, the old king himself awarded him a knighthood, and as for the duke? He must have really liked his daughter, because what he gave us was unbelievable.
It’s been ten years and I still can’t quite believe it, although I’ve since returned part of the gift.
First, there was money—a lot of it, enough so that my parents never needed to work again. They do, because it’s in their character, but now they get to do what they love rather than breaking their backs for the duke’s estate.
Then, my sister and I were admitted to the royal academy of Anderia’s boarding school, entirely free of charge. That’s a good six figures for our education per year. And on top of that, the duke pledged to sponsor our college studies, too.
But the truly inconceivable thing wasn’t the money, although it completely changed the course of our lives back then.
It was the last gift, the one that still doesn’t quite make sense. The one I rejected.
He gave us hissons.
Everyone knows the royals of Anderia get betrothed practically at birth, but Alessandro Valmont, earl of Folburgh, and Nicolas Valmont, viscount of Valdenach were the rarest commodity, unattached fourteen- and ten-year-old at the time. I think their previous brides of choice died in infancy, and the duke hadn’t gotten around to picking other fiancées for his pride and joy.
But he picked us, my sister and me, although we were commoners—and not even rich commoners.
I was in the middle of my Disney phase, and Alex bore an uncanny resemblance to Prince Eric fromThe Little Mermaid, so needless to say, I was sold on the idea. And as for Nico, with his adorable dark curls and his quick smile? He seemed perfect for my little sister, Belladona.
And like all things too good to be true, it exploded in my face.
“This is your pilot speaking, it’s three-forty-five, and we will shortly begin the descent to the Royal Borough of Anderia’s airport. Please return to your seats and prepare for landing.”
My stomach tightens, although I’ve never been afraid of flying. What I’m undeniably afraid of is landing here.
I haven’t been back in four years. Not once. After graduating from RAA, I took a plane out of our small, fashionable kingdom aimed straight to Gatwick airport. I’ve traveled since—to the states, to France, to Italy, and even Japan. Each holiday, I made a point of planning a tripI couldn’t possibly miss! Such a great opportunity.
I’ve also seen my parents. They visit, when my mom’s gallery is closed. After five years in the art department of the University of Anderia, my father has become a great painter, and Mom features his pieces among others. They close every quarter for a week or two to change the gallery—and they’ve come to see me at Oxford.
As for Bella, she accompanies them when she doesn’t have school, but she’s also popped by for the occasional shopping holiday.
But I’ve never, ever come back home until now.
Only Bella has a little inkling as to why.
She was bullied as much as me when she arrived at RAA. I don’t know why I didn’t expect it at the time, really. The gist of our spoiled rich fellow students’ beef with us was: How dare we nobodies pollute these great halls with our presence?And take their men, too.
I think the second one was the real problem.
But Bella’s outgoing, fun, and easygoing, so she found her tribe. Plus, Nico made it clear that anyone daring to look at her the wrong way would have to deal with him, which limited the amount of crap she had to go through.
I’m a bookworm, an introvert, and Alex made it abundantly clear he wouldn’t give a shit if I fell off a cliff.
With help.
So, naturally, RAA was a nightmare for me. But it’s only one of the factors why I haven’t stepped a foot in the kingdom where I was born for the last four years.
The overhead sign telling us to fasten our seatbelts is turned on, and the plane starts to sway a little too hard for comfort. There must have some turbulence.
